It's the College Life
by lostsunsets
Summary: College AU. Beth and Alison meet in college, with Sarah as her roommate, things are about to get interesting for one Elizabeth Childs. Complete with roommate drama, new love, and late night study sessions! Rating might go up later.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: this is what I worked on instead of studying for my test. sorry if there's any mistakes. hope you enjoy! :)

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The late summer breeze blew through her hair as she moved quickly down the track. The sound of her shoes hitting the asphalt brought a sense of relaxation to her as it always did. It was still early in the morning, but it was her favorite time of day. Everyone else still rested soundly in their homes, except one Beth Childs. The twenty-two year old track star was always running on her university's track during the early hours of the morning.

Turning a corner she stopped in her tracks as she saw another girl her age approaching the track. She had a bag on her shoulders, wore a pair of yoga pants and a pink under armour long-sleeve shirt. Her hair was tied tightly back into a ponytail along with a pink hairband. As Beth ran closer and closer she saw the other girl's lips move.

Coming to a halt, Beth took out one of her ear buds which was blasting Evans Blue's latest album. "What was that?" Beth asked out of breath.

The girl smiled and repeated herself, "I said that I'm surprised to see someone else here this early."

Beth checked her digital watch she used for exercising and shrugged. "It's not that early. It's only six o'clock."

"How long have you been out here may I ask?"

"Since four thirty. It's my favorite part of the day." Beth replied easily.

"Impressive."

Beth smiled. She didn't know why she felt pride from that comment, but she struggled to keep it contained. A moment passed by before Beth shook her head and offered her hand. "I'm Beth."

"Alison Hendrix." The girl replied as she shook Beth's hand.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Alison." The two shared a smile and then they easily fell into a comfortable running pace. The rest of the morning passed by quickly, the two women slowly got to know each other a little bit before they had to return to their apartments to do last minute errands and what not before the first day of classes tomorrow.

Later that night, Beth returned to her apartment with her arms full of groceries and saw her roommate and best friend sitting in front of the television playing the latest Assassin's Creed game. "Bloody patriot," she exclaimed as she died.

"Y'know Sarah, there is a counter attack button." Beth laughed putting the bags on the kitchen counter.

"Psh, wha'ever. Didn't wanna kill him an'way…" Sarah grumbled.

"Sure."

Sarah Manning had been Beth's best friend since her family moved here during middle school. Beth was quick to befriend her after a few boys started calling them "clones" because they looked so much alike. And after watching Sarah beat those guys up for the name-calling along with making fun of her accent, it only solidified her wanting to be friends with the punk. Over the years the two shared everything, and were almost inseparable. Beth forced her to go running with her and Sarah forced Beth to play multiple video games with her in return. And when they got to high school, Beth never ditched Sarah to hang out with her athletic friends. Everything was fine for a while, until Sarah met Vic and got addicted to drugs. More than once she had cursed Beth for this and that, but every morning Beth had showed up at her house to pick her up for school. And when Sarah went through rehab due to her foster mom's and brother's influence, Beth was still there with a pint of ice cream and a video game. During their senior year of high school it was Beth whom was falling apart. Beth's parents were going through a divorce and she was on anti-depressants. It was during this time that Sarah discovered Beth's boyfriend was cheating on her. Sarah had beaten the guy up for cheating on Beth; she then went over to Beth's house with bloody, broken knuckles, a pint of ice cream, and a video game. The two had their differences, but they were also as close as two girls could be.

Beth made work putting away the groceries before she grabbed a couple beers and went to sit next to Sarah, who was getting killed yet again. "Alright, Manning, let me show you how it's done." She said as she traded Sarah a beer for the PlayStation3 controller.

"We both know I'm better at video games, Childs."

"Sure ya are." Beth said as she took a sip from her beer and placed it on the coffee table then resumed the game.

Beth pressed buttons and after a couple combo moves, the patriot died and she handed the controller back to the punk. "That's how it's done."

"Shu' up."

Beth laughed as she sat back with a book in her lap and watched Sarah play the game. It was only twenty minutes later that Sarah gave up on the game and turned it off. "Getting' tired of dying?" Beth mused.

"Shush you." Sarah sat back and drank her beer. "You ready for classes tomorrow?"

"Yes and no."

"Don' worry you'll still be able to get up at that ungodly hour."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Speak up Childs, I can't read your mind."

"I'm more worried about you."

"Me? I'll be fine."

Beth sighed; she knew this wasn't going to go over well. "Sarah, I know Vic is in town and that he wants to see you." Sarah shook her head, pretending she didn't know what Beth was talking about. "I know you know, so cut the bullshit."

"I told him to fuck off, Beth. I'm not going to go down that road again." Sarah replied, anger in her voice.

Beth took a deep breath trying to remain calm. "I believe you, Sarah. But that doesn't keep me from being worried about you. You're my best friend; I'm always going to be worried about you. I just want you to be careful when you see him."

"I'm not going to see him! Have a little faith, would ya?" Sarah exasperated as she stood up and retrieved another beer from the fridge. Beth was quick to follow her into the kitchen.

"I do have faith in you, Sarah! It's him I don't have faith in. He got you into drugs before; he can do it again if you let him. Just please be careful around him. Maybe you don't remember that last time you got involved in drugs, but I do! I don't want to see you like that again!"

"You're not my mom, Beth. You don't have to worry about me!"

"No, your mom abandoned you! She never worried about you!" She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. "Shit Sarah. I am so sorry."

Sarah stared at Beth, tears forming in her eyes. "Go to hell, Beth." With that Sarah grabbed her leather jacket and left the apartment.

When the door slammed shut, Beth turned and punched the fridge. "Ah, fuck!" She exclaimed as she stared down at her now bruised hand. "Sarah, I'm sorry," she whispered to the open air before sliding down against the fridge, dropping her head in her hands.

Beth knew she fucked up when she waited up all night for Sarah to come home and she didn't. At four thirty Beth found herself running harder than she's ever had before. Her argument kept playing over and over in her head and each time she hated herself that much more for it. She knew Sarah's mom had always been a sore spot for the punk, and to throw that in her face wasn't her best moment. Now Sarah hated her and she didn't know what to do. So round and round the track she ran. She continued to run when Alison showed up to do her own workout. Beth made no move to stop running though. She just kept pushing herself to run faster and faster.

The morning passed by and Alison was packing up when she saw Beth still pushing herself harder than she's ever seen someone push themselves. Worry creased her forehead and Alison waited until Beth came her way before trying to gain her attention. When she did, Alison saw streaks of tears running down her face. "Beth, stop. You're exhausting yourself." Alison said as she placed her hands on Beth's shoulders to stop her.

Beth didn't care if she were exhausting herself. She only cared about Sarah's wellbeing, and she had hurt Sarah, so she didn't care if she exhausted herself. "I'm fine."

"You're not. You're dehydrated and pushing yourself too hard. C'mon, I'm taking you home." Alison made no room for argument as she picked up Beth's things as well as her own. Beth allowed herself to be guided by this woman she just met yesterday.

Alison successfully helped Beth to her apartment and had the athlete sit on the kitchen stool while Alison got out a couple glasses of water. "Drink up. You need to rehydrate." Beth was no in no mood to argue so she pick up the glass and drank half of it before setting it back down. Alison took the seat beside her and said, "I know we hardly know each other, but if you want to talk about what's got you so upset, we can."

Beth looked up from her glass and stared into Alison's honey brown eyes. Her eyes captivated her and she had to stop herself from spilling all of her secrets. This girl made her want to tell her everything and as badly as she wanted to, she couldn't do that. She wasn't sure what was going on with them yet; whether they were friends, or just two people that ran in the mornings on the same track. And Beth wasn't going to do anything to screw that up; she wants to be friends with Alison. Maybe even more than that, but _that _was a crazy idea considering she barely knew her.

"If you don't want to tal-"

Beth cut her off. "I fucked up real bad last night. My best friend and I had an argument and she didn't come back last night. I'm just worried about her and I hate myself for some of the things I've said to her. That's why I was pushing myself so hard this morning."

"Also because your hand looks broken; which we need to take care of, by the way. First aid kit?"

"Under the sink." Beth looked down at her right hand and noticed the swelling and the bruising. Yeah, that wasn't good. "I didn't even remember that…"

Alison hopped off the stool and reached beneath the sink for the first aid kit. "You really should take better care of yourself, Beth. At this point you won't make it to graduation." Alison mused. She then carefully took Beth's hand to examine it closer. She then grabbed an ice pack and placed it gently on her hand. "Hold that there, and then when the swelling goes down, I'll wrap it up."

Beth smiled and did as she was told. "I'm sorry, I'm such a mess. I'm not usually like this."

"I don't mind." Alison reassured. "What time do you have classes?"

"Shit! I completely forgot class started today." Beth jumped up.

"Beth, relax. Go get cleaned up and I'll wrap your hand before you head to class."

Beth nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." Alison smiled as she watched Beth disappear down the hallway into her bedroom.

This year was going to be interesting.

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A/N: thoughts? Review!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So I wrote this during class. Sorry if it sucks. There'll be more soccer cop next chapter. Also I'm not planning on this story being super long. Anyway here's the next chapter! Enjoy and please leave a review! :)

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After a very hot, much needed shower Beth got out and threw on a clean pair of jeans and the closest tank top she could find. Staring at her reflection in the mirror she pulled out the bottle of pills she kept in a nook beneath the ceramic sink. Popping in a couple pills she swallowed them dry. She hoped they would kick in soon; she needed to not feel so much. Exiting the bathroom she walked into her bedroom. Beth cursed herself when she looked down at her hand and took in the damaged knuckles and the deep bruising, along with the swollen skin. _Strike punching refrigerators off the list, _she thought_._ Quickly ruffling a towel through her wet curls, Beth headed back into the living room where Alison was waiting patiently. She had the first-aid kit all prepared for taking care of Beth's hand. The Ace bandage, icepack, Neosporin, and two hot teas all sat out on the coffee table.

Alison straightened herself when she saw the athlete appear in the doorway. She offered a small smile and asked, "Feel any better?"

Beth walked over and sat on the other end of the couch and nodded. "Yeah, a bit. Thanks, Ali." Beth smiled as she took one of the tea cups and took a sip. "How'd you know I like honey in my tea?"

Alison smiled at the nickname rolling off of Beth's lips and shrugged. "To be honest, I completely guessed. It's just the way I like it." Gently and hesitantly, Alison reached out and took Beth's sprained hand. Sensing no protests, Alison picked up the Neosporin and applied it to Beth's knuckles, then held the icepack against her hand for a few minutes until she saw the swelling lessen. "It's probably a sprain, but I'd get it looked at if I were you, just to make sure."

Alison traded the icepack for the bandage and started to wrap her hand the best she knew how. Every touch ignited Beth on fire and although she didn't know anything about this girl, Beth wanted to take her in her arms and never let her go. Alison was different than anyone else she met. No one she knew would've made sure she was okay, and no one, besides Mrs. S, would be taking care of her like this. Meeting Alison's similar honey brown eyes, Beth smiled and was about to say something when her phone rang.

Needing to know if it was Sarah, Beth jumped up and ran over to her bag. Fumbling with her phone a couple times, she finally swiped the answer button and answered, "Sarah? Oh thank God." The quiet on the other line rose Beth's neck hair and she knew what happened and why Sarah was calling her. "Sarah? You alright?" She asked stupidly, already knowing the answer to that question.

Sarah's timid shaky voice on the other line broke Beth's heart. "Beth, you were right… I did fuck up."

"Where are you? I'm on my way," Beth said already pulling on her tennis shoes which were already by the door. Sarah gave her the address. "I'll be there in ten minutes." With Sarah's okay, Beth hung up the phone.

Turning to Alison, Beth gave her an apologetic smile. "I really gotta go. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright, go help your friend." Alison stood off the couch and headed toward her bag. She took out a piece of paper and quickly jotted down her phone number and handed it to the athlete. "It was good to see you again, Beth." Alison smiled one last time before she exited the apartment.

Beth shook off the butterflies in her stomach and grabbed her bag before locking the apartment door and racing towards where Sarah was. As she raced down the street a million different scenarios were running through her mind: Sarah lying in a ditch somewhere cold and alone; lying where she had been assaulted and only just managing to contact Beth for help. Beth knew her mind tended to go to the worst possible conclusions when it came to Sarah, but she had seen girls like Sarah at her internship. Girls that had no place to go so they resorted to using and abusing anything to give them peace. Girls who acted tough, but were really just scared and alone so they trusted anyone who paid attention to them; even though they would end up raped or abused. Beth had seen plenty of those girls and not knowing what happened to Sarah last night scared Beth shitless.

She had hoped and prayed this wouldn't happen again. Beth had been there and seen firsthand how the drugs had impacted her friend's life and everyone's around her. She saw how Sarah said things and did things she didn't mean, saw her go through the painful withdrawals, saw how scared she was through it all; Beth wasn't about to let that happen again.

She doesn't remember parking her car or locking it, the only thing on her mind was to locate Sarah, which didn't take her long. As soon as she entered the run down building she spotted her friend, leaning against the dirty walls, using her leather jacket as a blanket, and head resting against her shoulder. Seeing Sarah this small wasn't something she saw often, Sarah was always trying to be the tough one, as if nothing could hurt her. So to see the punk so small on the ground, looking as exhausted as Beth felt, wasn't something she knew how to handle well. _At least she's still in one piece_, Beth thought.

Silently taking a deep breath, Beth crouched in front of her and gently touched Sarah's knee. "Sarah?" Beth breathed out, waiting for the girl to awaken.

Slowly, Sarah lifted her head and blinked her eyes open. Beth saw the instant regret in her eyes. "Beth, you were right. I did fuck up," Sarah admitted sadly.

There would come a time when she and Sarah would talk about what happened last night but what the punk needed right now was to get back home. Pushing away everything she wanted to say and ask, Beth instead took Sarah's hand and helped her up to her feet. Once Sarah was on her feet, Beth wrapped her arms around her and hugged her. It wasn't a bone-crushing hug, but it was tight and firm. She felt Sarah relax slowly in her arms and Beth muttered, "I'm sorry about what I said. I didn't… I'm sorry."

Sarah nodded and apologized as well. "Can you just take me home?" Beth nodded and led Sarah back to her car.

The car ride back to the apartment was in complete silence. Sarah was leaning against the window and Beth was having an internal debate whether or not to call Sarah's foster mom and let her know what happened. Siobhan had been the only one to talk sense into Sarah when she went through this in high school. Beth didn't know how to handle things like this, she only knew what she saw at the police station and it wasn't anything that could help her friend.

She could get Vic busted for dealing, but what would stop him from turning in Sarah as well? Besides jail time wasn't what Sarah needed at the moment. So no, she wasn't going to do that. She could ask her friend Art what to do, he was a smart guy and had some experience with this himself. Beth shook her head and sighed. She didn't know how to help. She just had to do her best. Through all their years together, they had been through too much for Beth to turn her back on her best friend. Beth could tell that Sarah was still pissed at her for what she said last night, but Sarah still called her in her time of need. That meant something, right?

Pulling up into the parking space by their apartment complex, Beth turned off the engine and looked over at her sleeping roommate. Tapping her shoulder, Beth woke her up. "We're home." Sarah nodded and followed Beth out of the car and up to their apartment.

As soon as Beth unlocked the door, Sarah collapsed on their old beat up couch. She needed sleep. Sleep would clear her foggy mind. It would also give her something to say to Beth without sounding like a douche. Sarah hated herself for proving Beth right. She just needed to escape from their argument and she was so upset that she ended up calling the one guy she hated more than anyone. The drugs had helped ease her troubled mind and calm her anxious body. She had quickly fallen back into that world she had worked so hard to put behind her. She didn't want to have to go through the withdrawal pain again, and yet here she was once again. She wished she and Beth had never had that stupid argument in the first place. Sarah knew how much Beth worried about her and she was right to. Beth is as much Sarah's family as her foster brother, Felix, is. She needs to apologize. Only the problem is that she doesn't know what she'd say. Her thoughts were interrupted when she Beth tapped her on the shoulder. Looking up, she saw Beth holding a plate of pancakes and a glass of orange juice in her hands.

Beth looked down at the food and shrugged. "I know you're tired and want to sleep, you should probably eat something before you do." Beth offered the plate to her and Sarah took it.

Sitting up, Sarah offered a small smile. "You're lucky I love your pancakes more than life." She then picked up the fork while Beth took a seat on the other end of the couch. Sarah took a bite of the pancake and sighed happily while she chewed. Her eyes landed on the first-aid kit on the table then looked over at Beth and saw her bandaged hand. Putting the plate down and swallowing, Sarah grabbed Beth's hand and looked at it. "Bloody hell, Childs. Wha'd you do?"

"It's nothing, just a sprain."

"Wha'd you punch? A bloody brick wall?"

"The fridge actually."

"Bloody hell, Beth."

Beth retracted her hand. "I'm fine, Sarah. It'll heal."

Sarah studied Beth's tired form and instantly knew what her night was like. Worrying nonstop, pushing herself in her morning workout, running on no sleep. "How hard did ya push this mornin'?"

"I'm fine, Sarah. I'm the one supposed to be taking care of you here, remember?"

"Beth I love ya, but you're a fuckin' idiot sometimes. I know you, and I know how you get when you're upset." Beth opened her mouth to protest but was cut off when Sarah put up her hand. "I swear I'm gonna punch ya myself if you say you're fine one more time."

Beth chuckled halfheartedly. Okay, so maybe she wasn't "fine", but Sarah didn't need to know that. She didn't need to know Beth was back on prescription anti-depressants. Beth had to be a rock for Sarah, someone the punk could rely on through the storms. So Beth would be "fine" for her friend. "Yeah, I pushed myself this morning, and yeah it was harder than normal. It wasn't like I could call you and make sure you were okay, Sarah. You were avoiding my calls and that's completely understandable. I don't blame you for anything. If it's anyone's fault it's my own. I shouldn't have said what I said, or even thought about that. I was an asshole and I understand if you hate me for it. Pushing myself pass my limits allowed me to work out my frustrations. Like you said, you know me and how I get when I'm upset."

"Childs, are ya back on the meds?" Sarah question; something was up with her friend, she would normally be crying right about now. Yet she wasn't.

Yes. "No, I'm not."

Sarah nodded. "For the record, it's not your fault, 'kay? It's mine. I called Vic and took the drugs he offered. So stop blamin' yourself. It's my fault, and I'm sorry as well."

Beth couldn't stop herself from throwing her arms around Sarah. Sarah returned the hug for a moment before pulling away and opting to finish the pancakes Beth made. Beth sat there with her laptop and emailed her professors apologizing for missing the first day of classes. After all, school could wait. Sarah is much more important.

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A/N: thoughts? Review!


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